Colon Punctuation
by Sean Woods

Remembering the following three rules will help to make you an expert at colon punctuation.

What is a colon? It is a punctuation mark that lets the reader know that there is more to follow. It is a signal to alert the reader to expect more details.

Rule 1 – Whatever precedes the colon must be able to be a complete sentence. It cannot be a sentence fragment.

Example – Jane went to the store and bought several items: milk, bread, ketchup, and cheese.

The words, “Jane went to the store and bought several items,” can stand on their own and could technically be a sentence.

Example of when not to use a colon – Her hair is: long, straight, and brown.

The words, “Her hair is,” is not a complete sentence, therefore you should not use a colon.

Rule 2 – For an easy way to know if you are using the colon correctly, try replacing the colon with the word, “specifically.” In our previous example, it would read, “Jane went to the store and bought several items, specifically, milk, bread, ketchup, and cheese. If you can interchange the colon with the word, “specifically,” chances are it is correct.

Rule 3 - Do you need to capitalize the first word after the colon?

You do if it the words following the colon are one of the following:

· the beginning of a quote

o Example - She gave the plumber directions to her house: “Turn left at the gas station and we are at the end of the road.”

· more than one sentence

o Example – I have two favorite meals: French toast is good anytime. Pizza is great after a long day at work.

· a proper name

o Example –  I will travel through several states on my trip: Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.

That’s all there is! If you remember these few simple rules, you should have no trouble with colon punctuation.

If you have more questions, feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com/ or contacthelp@grammarperfection.com.